POLICE, council and Berneslai Homes officers are working together to reduce antisocial behaviour in two of the worst-hit areas in the borough.

Kendray and Worsbrough which fall under the Barnsley West Neighbourhood Policing Team’s jurisdiction came under the spotlight after residents complained about rising issues at a recent crime meeting.

The Chronicle can reveal that due to the severity of the problems being faced by residents, police have instated an antisocial behaviour crackdown as a priority for the coming weeks.

Hotspots have included Kendray Recreation Ground, which has been churned up by off-road bikers.

A spokesperson said: “Year on year antisocial behaviour is identified as a community safety priority for the residents of Barnsley.

“We have taken steps to reduce antisocial behaviour in these areas and have held multi-agency meetings to discuss actions.

“High-visibility patrols taking place with PCs and PCSOs to robustly deal with those who commit offences.

“We’re also working with local businesses and action will continue in the coming months to reduce issues at these locations.

“The primary legislation for tackling this is the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 which gives two definitions.

“These are non-housing related which is conduct capable of causing harassment, alarm or distress, covers behaviour in public spaces, and housing-related, where the lower threshold of conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance applies.

“This recognises the added impact of nuisance behaviour when it occurs around your home.

“The act reduced 19 formal tools and powers down to six, putting victims at the heart of all responses.

“Barnsley has a strong and established fully integrated model of neighbourhood policing reflected operationally by the alignment of police and council resources into local area teams and a central unit to manage more complex demand.

“The model, which has been commended by such as His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) places police and council personnel within six local teams across the borough co-terminus with area council boundaries.

“Central to this working model is the provision of a seamless cross organisational service driven by and reflective of the community safety priorities of local people.”

Since 2021, more than 5,000 reports have been lodged by residents relating to antisocial behaviour in the town, with Kendray and Worsbrough among the worst-affected.

Chief Superintendent Simon Wanless, who spearheads Barnsley’s six neighbourhood policing teams, told the Chronicle he has been happy with the force’s response to growing reports from the public.

“We’ve had good results recently our neighbourhood teams are hot on it.

“Kendray was identified as a place where off-roaders were impacting residents’ lives and it’s important to add that their information has been invaluable to us.

“This is a perennial problem and one that’s never far away from people’s thoughts.

“But with this issue, reports from the public are key.”

* If you wish report incidents of antisocial behaviour, please call 101, report online or give information completely anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers.